KEY POINTS
- World Gold Council and Dynacor have signed an agreement to make artisanal gold mining more formal and responsible.
- The partnership will focus on traceability, environmental standards, worker safety and reducing illegal activity.
- The groups want to create global best practices that can help legitimate small-scale miners access formal gold markets.
The World Gold Council (WGC) and Dynacor, a gold ore processing company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, have agreed to work together to improve the artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector.
The organisations signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at helping more responsibly produced gold enter formal supply chains around the world.
The partnership brings together Dynacor’s experience in buying and processing gold ore from artisanal miners and the World Gold Council’s expertise in developing industry standards, responsible mining practices and gold market systems.
Their goal is to create a more transparent and responsible system that can benefit miners while giving gold buyers greater confidence in where their supplies come from.
Artisanal and small-scale mining provides livelihoods for millions of people in different parts of the world. However, the sector also faces challenges, including weak supply-chain controls, environmental damage, unsafe working conditions, the use of mercury and illegal activities.
The new partnership is expected to address some of these problems by encouraging responsible mining and improving the way gold is tracked from miners to buyers.
The two organisations will explore ways to increase transparency, improve environmental and social standards and limit the involvement of illegal actors in the gold trade.
They also plan to work with governments, mining companies, investors, international organisations, non-governmental organisations and industry bodies.
Global Standards for Gold Processing Plants
A major part of the partnership will be the development of best-practice principles for gold processing plants.
The proposed principles are expected to cover several areas, including checks on miners and suppliers, gold traceability, environmental protection, workplace health and safety, anti-money laundering measures, reporting and responsible sourcing.
The partners also want these principles to contribute to the development of a globally recognised standard for gold processing plants.
Such a standard could help create more consistent rules across different countries and make it easier for legitimate gold producers to participate in international markets.
The World Gold Council already operates a Gold Processing Initiative designed to help formalise artisanal and small-scale gold mining.
The initiative uses measures such as origin verification technology, centralised gold processing facilities and greater participation by responsible gold buyers.
According to the organisations, the approach can improve gold recovery, strengthen supply-chain visibility, reduce the use of mercury and give miners better access to legitimate markets.
